Olivia Benson
Olivia Benson is a detective in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. She is partnered with Elliot Stabler. Family Olivia Benson was born in 1968. She was the product of the 1967 rape of Serena Benson by a food salesman named Joseph Hollister. At the time of the rape, Serena had been working in the cafeteria of Columbia University. Olivia Benson has a half-brother, Simon Marsden. Personality Olivia is deeply empathetic with victims of sex crimes. As a result, she is often quick to believe victim's stories. Her partner Stabler is often more skeptical of victim's accounts, which often brings the two partners into conflict. Olivia's ability to empathize with victims is a tremendous asset, but there are times when it comes back to haunt her. In the ninth season she went undercover in a women's prison to find a rapist and was almost raped herself until Fin, also undercover there as a guard of the facility, managed to save her just moments before the man, who was a fellow guard, abused her. Afterwards, Olivia developed a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but has been receiving counseling for the assault and has been seen dealing with it more constructively. While speaking to a victim of a separate rape, the victim asked her if she was better having dealt with her rapist, and Olivia told her that she was better but that she wouldn't ever forget what happened. Skills and Abilities Benson speaks some Spanish and French and is able to read the Miranda rights in seven others. Season 3, Prodigy She is a recreational mountain climber, and climbed on her own time with her co-worker Monique Jeffries. Early Life In Philadelphia (2007) and Florida (2007) Olivia finds out about the man who raped her mother, and others. He knew about his daughter and kept track of her. He once tried to call her but got Serena instead. Olivia was a graduate of Siena College (Stalked). In the pilot episode Payback, Olivia and Serena seemed to care about each other a great deal. Serena was worried about Olivia working in the Special Victims Unit. Then in Taken (2000) Serena dies as the result of a fall down the subway stairs across from a bar. Olivia says Serena was a drunk. In Abuse (2000) Olivia becomes involved with a child who was neglected by her parents that way Olivia felt neglected by her mother. In Wanderlust (1999) Olivia said she was in love with an older man and that she "couldn't have loved him more." In Intoxicated (2005) Olivia tells Casey about an incident when she was 16. An older student of her mother asked her to marry him and when she told Serena that she was leaving, her mother who had been drinking flew into a rage and went after her with a broken bottle. Olivia kicked her mother into a wall and ran to Simone Bryce for help. After arguing with ADA Sonya Paxton about alcoholism and seeing her drunk in court, she was moved to leave flowers at her mother's grave. (SVU: Hammered) Law and Order: SVU Olivia Benson got cut in the neck by a man in the train station. Eliot was there, but she told him to go and that she was fine. She walked to the top of the train station where Fin saw her and got a napkin to stop the bleeding. Relationships Olivia has had atrocious luck when it has come to the area of dating and interpersonal relationships. * Olivia likes Elliot, however, Elliot is unaware of this. * She had a one night stand with, Brian Cassidy, her co-worker in the first season. She ended it the next day because he wanted something more. * One boyfriend, Marshal Andy Eckerson, seemed to have a death-wish. (Escape) * Another man she dated, reporter Nick Ganzner, was seeing her to get information about a serial rapist she was looking for. ( : "Contact") * A third, ADA Jeffrey York, later turned out to be gay, and was murdered by his colleague, Andy Abbot. York had HIV at the time of his death, and thus Olivia had to be tested for the disease. ( : "Lowdown") * More recently, Olivia dated a newspaper editor, Kurt Moss, but this fell apart when a tabloid writer at Moss' paper outed Lincoln Havers, a high-profile professional quarterback who happened to be a suspect in a murder that Benson was investigating. Naturally, Havers' attorney accused the NYPD of leaking Havers's sexuality to the press, and the NYPD in turn tried to scapegoat Benson for it. It was ultimately proven that Havers's agent was the real leak. Benson decided to break up with Moss, who had asked her to move in with him. ( : "Closet") Benson's current partner is Elliot Stabler. They have never been romantically involved. Their relationship is not without friction, as the two sometimes argue over the cases they work on; Benson is quicker to side with the victims while Stabler is slower to assume that victims are telling the truth. There is also some sexual tension between them, but both actors have said that they dont think it will ever happen. There are also people that think so too, like Babs Duffy, in the episode "P.C.", she says: "He has the hots for you, you know?", Olivia says: "Excuse me?", Babs says: "Stabler", and Olivia says that it is never going to happen. In season 8, after it is revealed that Benson and Stabler have the same blood type, Stabler says that if she ever needed, he would give her a kidney, she replies by saying: "Not if I give you mine first" In "Burned" Stabler's wife, Kathy said she worried that Elliot preferred be with Olivia rather than with herself and the kids. But Olivia told her that Elliot was always talking about her and the kids at work. Combined with his long hours on the job and away from home, Stabler's work at SVU placed considerable strain on their marriage, eventually culminating in their separation; they later reconciled before the divorce became final. Trivia * Olivia was cut in the neck trying to catch a sex offender, but survives. * Olivia lives in apartment 4D. * Olivia´s blood type is A positive. * In the episode "Trophy", the daughter of a rape victim gives Olivia the parental rights to her son, Calvin Arliss, after killing her mother's rapist. A few episodes later, in "Rescue", these rights are revoked by Calvin's mother and he is sent to Child Services before finalizing his sending to Vermont. * Olivia's shield number is 4015. Aliases= * Olivia is often refered has "Liv" by Elliot Stabler, Odafin Tutuola, John Munch, Capitan Cragen, Melinda Warner and more instead of Olivia. Notes * Olivia considers herself to be "best friends" with her partner Elliot Stabler. But he has never said the same about her. * She gets along with Alexandra Cabot. Stephanie March has commented that the two have sexual tension, as have multiple producers on the show. References Benson, Olivia Benson, Olivia Benson, Olivia Benson, Olivia